It Was Autumn Then, Too
by BookOtaku
Summary: It's one of those nights when everything's silent, and a warm cup of tea goes along well with sudden bouts of nostalgia.


**Title: **It Was Autumn Then, Too.  
**Characters/Pairings:** Robin/John.  
**Summary:** It's one of those nights when everything's silent, and a warm cup of tea goes along well with sudden bouts of nostalgia.  
**Notes:** So, um, please go easy on me! This is my first fic, and, well, it took a lot of effort for me to actually post it... I-I hope you like it anyway! Reviews are welcome, as well as criticism, and, um, thank you in advance for reading! Also, this kinda got cheesy in the end, and romance isn't exactly my forté, so, I apologize.  
**Notes2:** I own nothing. This is simply by brain going haywire over some ridiculous idea I concocted.

* * *

**_It Was Autumn Then, Too._**

_._

_Who are you?_

_J-John… My name's John._

_Is it really? You don't look like a John._

_Why would you say that?_

_I have an uncle named John; he's not very nice, though._

_But there are plenty of other people named John._

_Well, alright, I'll just have to call you Little John, then._

_Little? I'm not… I'm not little!_

_._

_._

_._

Twirling a small dagger in between her fingers, a lone figure is perched atop of a large tree branch, mostly obscured by the tree's multicolored scarlet, gold and auburn autumn leaves. It was already mid-autumn, but she's dressed in light clothing – a pair of black laced up knee-high boots, brown khaki shorts with a belt that held several little objects, and a black shirt inside of a green hooded vest. Her eyes were closed as she leaned onto the base of the large tree, both of her legs slung over and swinging on the side of the branch. Scarlet bangs fluttered when a breeze wafted by, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath, holding it in for a while before letting it out in one big sigh.

Below her, a cluster of men were drinking, dancing, and singing around a large bonfire. The flames flickered and sparked, and if her eyes were open, she would have thought that they were dancing along with the music. Loud cheers and laughter flitted through the empty forest, their mirth and euphoria filling the entire atmosphere around them, causing the corners of her mouth to curve upwards in the slightest. It was one of those rare moments of complete serenity that never really came around often, and she was determined to enjoy it to the fullest.

Although slightly stifled, the sound of rustling leaves causes her to tense and grip the base of her dagger. Prepared for some sort of attack, she straightens up as her emerald eyes open, flickering from the bonfire, to the area surrounding their camp, to the base of the tree. She visibly relaxes and lessens the hold she has on her dagger when she's greeted by the sight of a familiar face, his golden blonde hair still spiky, and his sky blue eyes still luminescent. He really did stand out, even at night.

"Mind if I join you?" he says to her, voice crisp and loud enough for her to hear, but not enough to make him noticeable to anyone else. It was an inane question, but she nodded anyway, before sitting cross-legged and leaning back onto the base of the tree, the dagger in her hand twirling once again as she waited.

It doesn't take long before he's sitting cross-legged next to her, their sides touching, offering her a small smile and a warm drink he'd salvaged that didn't contain any alcohol whatsoever. The roll of her eyes was eloquent, and so was the way she clicked her tongue at him, but she took the drink – tea, she decided – he offered anyway, dropping her dagger into the small pouch attached to her waist. The cup warmed her fingers, and she figured that, okay, this was nice, this was very nice. Perfect, even.

"Aren't you cold?" he asks, after a moment, but all she does is raise a single scarlet eyebrow. Why on earth does everyone have to ask her that every time they see her? "I mean, with what you're wearing, aren't you cold?"

Shaking her head, she proceeds to raising the cup to her lips and taking a sip of the tea he'd brought her. She detected a hint of lemon. "No, I'm not." She says from behind the cup, before nodding at him, "Unlike you, I'm not that weak against the cold."

True enough, although they resembled hers, his clothes were nowhere near as light. He sported a pair of dark brown laced up boots and black slacks with multiple pockets on the sides of his leg. He also wore a black long sleeved shirt underneath a green hooded vest, as well as a large black coat. It seemed that he'd taken off his gloves, but with the thermos in his hands, he didn't need them to keep his hands warm.

Setting the thermos to the side, he sighs. "Yeah, you and I both know I'm bad at dealing with the cold." All she does is nod and take another sip of the tea, because there's not really much to say when he doesn't even try to defend himself against her verbal attacks. He can't help but smile at that, before turning to look at the bonfire. His eyes land on the pair of children – a girl and a boy – they'd found earlier, and he can't help but laugh at how sound asleep they are in the middle of all the noise.

At the sound of his laugh, she turns to look at him, eyebrows raised and eyes questioning. He cocks his head in the direction of the children, and she follows his gaze. "They're getting along with the rest of the guys pretty well, you know." He told her, and she couldn't help but agree. Of course they'd get along; the guys were like overgrown children, anyway, the only difference being that they drank. "Too bad we can't keep them."

Lowering the cup to her lap, she doesn't take her eyes off of the children, who were both asleep under a large blanket. "Bringing them to the orphanage is the best choice," she says, before turning to look at him. "You know we can't keep them."

"Yeah, I know," he replies, for lack of anything better to say, because it's true. She nods, and finishes her tea, before turning to look at him, holding her cup out. Without a word, he smiles and refills her cup, before sighing and leaning against the tree. "Now that I think about it,-" there's a pause where he tries to think of what he wants to say, "-the two of them resemble us when we were kids."

If she wasn't in the middle of sipping her tea, she would have snorted, but instead settled with rolling her eyes. "Please, we weren't that much trouble when we were kids," she starts, cradling the cup that was on her lap once again, "I mean, come on, they're cute and all, but the girl's a sissy, and the boy's an imp."

He didn't miss a heartbeat and countered that effortlessly. "How is that any different from when we were kids?" It kind of amazed her how he could say that with a straight face. That being said, he didn't even flinch when she punched his shoulder for the comment, only laughing and rubbing the spot even though she knew it didn't hurt him at all.

Downing the last of her tea, she straightens up and hands him the cup, which he takes and screws it back onto the thermos. With a sigh, she stretches a bit, before leaning back against the tree, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of security that she only felt whenever he was around. Although the noise below them was still there, she barely noticed it, seeing as her attention was diverted to the man sitting beside her. Even with her eyes closed, she could perfectly picture his spiky blonde hair, his sky blue eyes, and that damnable smile of his.

"Hey," he starts, snapping her out of her reverie. He doesn't continue what he says until she's looking at him. "Remember when we first met?" he asks her, a small smile gracing his features.

"'Course, how could I forget?" That was the day her life changed, and she'd be damned if she didn't even remember that. With a click of her tongue, she nudges his shoulder. "What about you?"

He nudges her back. "Yeah, I do," with a chuckle, he adds, "It was the most terrifying moment of my life."

The sound of her laughter is pleasant and soft, and she can't help but turn to laugh into his shoulder to muffle it. Her long red hair, which was bound into a braid, fell over her shoulder when she moved, and he shifted so that she could sit more comfortably. At the same time, a fairly strong breeze wafts by, rustling leaves and making her bangs flutter. Although she was leaning on him, she couldn't help shivering, and noticing this, he quickly peels off his coat.

Before she could even comprehend what was going on, his coat was draped over her, warming her up and making her insides melt. Eyes widening, she sputters and blushes, but all he does is laugh at her, and she wonders why nobody has realized that he's a sadist in disguise. Really, how could they _not _notice the evil lurking within that polite and smiling façade? And they called _her _the sadist – then again, it wasn't her fault she liked watching people dig themselves deeper and deeper into their own graves.

Sighing into the warmth, she gives up, and whilst unable to offer him a smile of gratitude, she does lean on his shoulder once more, her face still almost as red as her hair, refusing to look at him in the eye. "Laugh and I'll lacerate you before feeding you to the skunk the old Friar found hovering around the lake a few days ago." He doesn't, but even without looking, she _knows _he's smiling that infuriating smile of his, and that only makes her growl at him.

"I'm not laughing," he says to her, voice laced with a bit of mirth. "But you know, now that I think about it," there's a pause, and she can't help but look at him, which was probably the main reason he paused in the first place, considering the way he smirked when she looked up, "The first time we met, our situations were kinda reversed."

Eyebrows crinkling, she couldn't help but shake her head at him. "I guess you're right," she starts, eyes turned nostalgic as a small smile made its way to her lips, the memory of two children meeting for the first time flitting through her mind. "That time, I was the one giving my jacket to you." He gives her a nod, and halfway suspects her to growl or hit him when he chuckles, but she doesn't seem to mind, because she began giggling as well. "Do you remember how we met?"

She isn't surprised when she sees something along the lines of nostalgia flashing through his sky blue irises. "I was eleven, and you were ten, the first time we met," he pauses, and she merely dips her chin in affirmation, "Honestly, I had no idea what I was walking into that day."

"If I remember correctly, you were walking into the river," she hums out, but he just gives her a pointed look, causing her to laugh and poke his cheek. "You know what? It was autumn then, too." At that, she leans even closer to him, and without looking down, he intertwines her fingers in his. "We met at the river, you know, the one that went through the forest behind the old mansion."

"I remember." He drew a breath and shook his head, muttering, "You can imagine my surprise when I came across a 10 year old girl in a red pinafore practicing her archery in the middle of the forest." He hears a growl that was most probably directed at the pinafore.

"Well, at least I wasn't the whimpering kid that fell out of the bushes and into the river." She shook her head. "You were such a sissy back then," with a pause, she pretends to think, before adding, "Actually, you still are."

"And you're still as lady-like as ever," he laughs when her face twists into something of a frown. "Come on, I was shivering, lost, _and _I was rescued by a girl who claimed to be a hero of justice, of all people." Turning to look at her, he smiles, "But, you know, I'm glad you found me."

The sincerity in his voice and the way he smiled made her blush return at full force, stuttering and erratic heartbeat along with it. "Y-yeah, I guess having you around hasn't been a total drag." Her mouth kicked up at the corners, "After all, I _was_ able to recruit a lackey that day."

"I believe the term was either partners or servant, but hey, good to know you've found another word for me – lackey's good," he said, tone mild, before grinning down at her, and tightening his fingers around hers. Green clashes with blue, and neither say a word for a while, simply basking in the comfort of the moment. It's him who breaks the silence when he leans into her, "But you know, I do remember promising something about never leaving your side."

By then, he's close enough that she could feel his breath ghosting over her lips, see her reflection in his clear blue eyes, and practically feel the heat emanating from his body. She drew a breath, and for a moment, he'd thought he'd said something that didn't sit well with her, but then she said, voice turned soft, "Well then it's a good thing that you haven't, because you're mine."

He doesn't even try to hide his relief when she smiled at him. Closing the gap between them, she allowed him to reach up and cradle her face between his broad palms as he leaned in to kiss her, slow and gentle, like he always did during those moments of intimacy when it seemed like they had all the time in the world. When he drew back, he immediately pulled at her so that she was leaning onto his chest, instead of his shoulder. And when he wrapped his arms around her, she didn't even resist him, merely nuzzling into the crook of his neck and yawning.

Glancing downwards, she noticed that the bonfire was out, along with everybody else. Bodies were strewn across the forest floor, and if it weren't for the rise and fall of their chests, doubled with their snoring, one would have mistaken them for corpses. It was a relatively pleasant sight, and she couldn't help but smile into his skin, nestling even closer to him and leeching off of his body heat. They stayed that way for a while longer, simply basking in each other's presence and warmth, the silence enveloping them like a familiar and comforting blanket as the forest resonated with the sounds of the snores of several large, drunk men.

Before long, her breathing and heartbeat slowed, and she was fast asleep. With a smile that's reserved for her, and her alone, he pulls her closer to him, his lips brushing her temple. A small smile gracing her relaxed features as she slept, she doesn't hear him when he murmurs, "Yeah, all yours."

_._

_._

_._

_Don't worry, maybe one day you'll grow big enough to protect yourself._

_I can protect myself just fine, thank you very much._

_No you can't. But that's alright, I'll protect you, so don't ever leave my side, okay?_

_Don't ever leave your side?_

_Yeah, I'm in charge of you now, so you're mine, deal?_

_Alright then, deal, but I'm the boy, and you're the girl; I should be the one protecting you._

_We'll see. But, you know what, John? You're funny, I like you. _

_Fine, but if I'm Little John, then who're you?_

_Who am I? I'm Robin, Robin Hood. Pleased ta meet ya, Little John._

_._

**_End_**


End file.
